Scarf of a Memory
by AllShadesOfGreen
Summary: Does anyone believe that scarfs can make memories? Cliff does, and receiving one that can bring people together has been a very happy experience for him. (OK, it's this fic's summary that I messed up,) (Cliffaire)


Scarf of a Memory

Cliff sighed in relief, closing his eyes as he sat down on the wooden crate that was full of lush, purple grapes that he had harvested over the last week. This week, he was working for ten hours a day, brewing several bottles of wine that most of which were ordered by the Inn. Opening his eyelids in a droopy manner, he stares at the continuously falling red and orange leaves that fell onto the red-bricked pavement, only to be swept by the wind once more.

Autumn in Mineral Town was coming to a close, with the leaves on the trees that were once green, now falling onto the red bricks in colors of red, orange, and fiery yellow. The weather turned colder with each passing day, continuing all the way down until winter. The brunette shivered slightly, for his leather clothes alone would not keep him warm for long. His ears caught the sound of Duke's voice, beckoning him to come in.

"Cliff, I think you should come in for a bit, Manna's making hot chocolate." said the elderly wine-maker.

Cliff gratefully accepted, and came into the house, thus escaping the cold that was threatening him to sneeze a few minutes ago.

Aja's Winery was running steadily as the town welcomed more visitors, merry little people, hopping off the ferry as to begin their stay in the village. Mayor Thomas recently agreed to bring tourists into Mineral Town; mostly it was because the town's run-down farm has grown successful because of the one-year-old-in-the-business farmer who shaped it into what it is today. Thomas decided that it was time to invest in tourism, and the villagers agreed with him.

That meant more work for Cliff, because it was Doug who usually needed their wine to keep the Inn alive, and he needed a lot if he wanted to satisfy foreigners. Cliff didn't mind actually, on the contrary, he felt glad that he had something to keep him occupied on slow days like in the winter. But, on some occasions, he would resent having to do it, because the cellar was either too hot for suitable wine-making, and he'd have to move outside, where, in contrast to the cellar, was too cold. Unfortunately Cliff had a problem with heat, not to mention he had claustrophobia, so he either had two choices, open the door to the cellar and risk the rest of the wine bottles getting frozen (maybe he was overreacting a bit but maybe it was just because he didn't like it too much in the cellar), or go out and risk himself getting frozen.

Cliff was devoted to his job as a nerd is to his books, and surprisingly, stuck to the habit of making wine outside despite the extreme temperatures in the weather.

But as Manna greeted him with a smile and a mug of steaming hot chocolate, Cliff's hand unconsciously made its way to the hem of a blue scarf around his neck, and then, like a sudden electric surge, warmth traveled through his body, leaving no space for the shivers that made him freeze.

Manna tilted her head to the side, with her usual look of innocent cluelessness. "Is something the matter, Cliff? You spaced out there for a sec,"

Shaking his head and taking the mug, he assured her with a smile. "No, nothing's wrong Manna,"

With the warm mug in his hand, he walked towards the dining table, and sat down on a chair. Drinking the hard-earned winter beverage, his mind wandered over to the blue scarf he wore. A smile played its way onto his lips as he remembered.

The scarf was from Claire, a blonde girl who took over the old farm. According to some of the gossip he gathered when he was still jobless, she didn't know what she was thinking, buying that farm in such a hurry. He had to admit, that was a pretty stupid idea, considering the horrible condition the farm was in after its last owner passed away. But even then, she was smiling, wearing that big grin up until today as she farmed.

Claire and Cliff, after three seasons of her stay, had become great friends. Cliff smiled as he remembered her giving him the job in the winery. He was about to leave the town that day, until Claire informed him about the vacancy. Well, two years later, he can say that he's standing tall and proud, because he's not going to try and leave again. He was too attached to the village to do so otherwise.

Then, winter that same year, he -as much as he hated to recall- collapsed in Rose Square. Claire found him, and if not for her, along with Carter, Ann, and Doug, he would have caught something worse than just a common cold, like a flu or pneumonia. When he was charged out of the hospital a week later, he made sure that he thanked every single person that helped him. Another week later, Claire appeared with a blue scarf. It looked like she made it herself. Needless to say, Cliff was confused. Claire explained that it was pretty dangerous to go out in the snow without any warm clothing on. It was very hypocritical, Cliff thought, as he remembered her wearing the same plaid long-sleeve and the jeans with only a jean vest that snowy afternoon.

"Wouldn't want you freezing to death, so… yeah," She gave a small laugh as she gave him the wool scarf.

Without his consent, Cliff touched the hem of his scarf again. It was as though her touch remained, even after nearly two years of ownership.

He's kept it ever since, and, boy did he take good care of it. It drove Claire crazy with joy seeing him wear it for the first time. Probably because of all the time she spent making it, thought Cliff, and he couldn't shake off the feeling of disappointment that stirred within him as he thought that.

He couldn't forget the slight redness in her cheeks as she gave him the scarf either, because he could have sworn that there was. By logic, which he honestly found disheartening, that could have been just the heat the body was trying to force in order to maintain itself. Or maybe, it could have been something else… at least that was he had hoped.

Sighing, Cliff put his mug down. "Thanks, I've had enough," He started walking towards the door.

Duke looked confused. "Where are you going?"

"I'm just going to step out for a bit, I'll be right back,"

And he was out, taking the blue scarf with him.

Walking down the brick road that led to a spring in the middle of a forest, Cliff was thinking about all of the things that were in his mind for the past hour. Hoping to sort all of them, he continues his walk towards the spring. Normally, he would go to the church if he ever wanted to sort out plaguing thoughts, but it was as if a voice told him to go to the spring instead.

Whether or not this had something to do with him thinking about the scarf again, he would have gone there anyway.

Cliff had some conclusions deprived from the things in his head. One particular stood out, however, among the rest.

At times he would catch himself wondering what the blonde farmer would be doing. Cliff would also feel his heart beating at an accelerating pace whenever he saw Claire. Somehow, the farmer had always found ways to get into his mind, even if Cliff tried to shut and clog those ways out. But, unknowingly, he would bring down those walls, and in turn, thoughts about Claire would come crashing like a tide to a seawall. A small desire in his heart told him let these thoughts wander.

And let them wander he did.

Cliff stopped dead in his tracks when he realizes that he was on the familiar grounds of the Goddess Spring.

The Goddess Spring was a common favorite place of the villagers in winter. Mary and her family would go here often to relax, with the librarian reading a book, and her parents looking through the snow for any kinds of evergreen that managed to pull through. Saibara went here sometimes, for the sole purposes of mining and taking a bath. More often than not, Rick's family would be seen near the waterfall, Popuri frolicking over at the sight of hibernating critter.

Cliff loved being at the Goddess Spring, because of the relaxing scene and the calm aura it always seemed to have. The Goddess Spring was in fact, built for that purpose, after all.

Sighing contentedly as he breathed the air, Cliff sat in a dry spot that was considerably near the waterfall, but far enough to not get wet. He heard some things from Claire about the Goddess being summoned from behind the waterfall itself, but he has yet to believe that theory.

Cliff felt redness rising to his cheeks at the mention of Claire's name. This was happening too much often than he might have liked to. On one occasion, the blush came so hard to his face that Gray asked him if he was having a fever. Declining (and stuttering) the fact that he was, Cliff remembered having to sit the whole conversation through.

Without much reason to, Cliff was chuckling.

A snap from behind him was heard, and on instinct, Cliff jumped backwards, away from the sound.

"I-is someone there?" He asked cautiously. A figure from inside the cave walked towards the light, and golden strands of hair were seen. Almost immediately, the redness returned to Cliff's cheeks.

With an arm clamped around a basket that was filled to the brim with Mystrile Ores, Claire Faraday stepped out of the cave with a tired but contented expression on her face. Eyes slightly droopy, and breathing at a somewhat constant pace, Claire was showing initial signs of fatigue.

This had Cliff worried, of course, and is what made him go over to the blonde, right before Claire collapsed in his arms.

Doctor Trent sighed in relief as he finished examining Claire. Cliff had been watching nervously from afar, constantly chewing on his fingertips. Body twitching with fear and anxiety, he sat on a chair as he waited for Trent to give a result. Elli had joined him sometime ago, but took a calmer approach than Cliff as she stood next to him.

The doctor looked at Cliff, and said in a calm voice. "She'll be fine, Cliff, she's a bit cold, but thankfully only collapsed from fatigue."

A giant wave of joy and relief washed over Cliff as Doctor Trent gave his diagnosis.

Trent grumbled in indigence as he muttered, "That's the third time this month she's collapsed, what has she been doing to herself?"

Cliff had caught his words, and his shock was visibly evident. Elli noticed his reaction to Trent's words, and, as if putting together puzzle pieces, frowned.

'That's odd,' Elli thought. 'Claire knows very well not to tire herself out anymore, but why does she persist so much? Is Trent's scolding not enough?' Don't get her wrong, Elli admired Claire's perseverance and hard work, but sometimes, even with a few well-chosen words from Trent, Claire was intent in working even harder after each time she collapses.

'Maybe, it's best if she didn't even collapse at all,' Elli sighed at her conclusion.

"Well, all we can do is to wait for her to wake up." Trent said as he stood, and continued to walk towards his office. Elli shrugged, and smiled kindly upon Cliff.

"Would you like to wait for Claire to wake up? I'm sure she and Trent wouldn't mind the extra company," the nurse said.

"Sure, I'll call Trent if she wakes up." Cliff replied, reciprocating the smile on Elli's face.

"Call me if you need anything,"

And Elli disappeared through the door, leaving Cliff alone with the temporarily unconscious Claire.

Cliff shyly moved his chair closer to Claire's bedside, and, even more hesitantly, touched her hand. Even if Claire was unconscious, she made him blush. She made him feel anxious as well, as if she was going to wake up and catch him holding her hand and such.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, Cliff blushing and Claire not at all showing any signs of waking up. A pang of nostalgia hit Cliff, as he recalled himself fainting for the second time that day. But this time, it was Claire who was laying stiff on the bed, and it was him who was staying beside her, holding her hand.

Cliff suddenly felt a sudden movement coming from Claire. She was shivering. Bells of panic rang in Cliff's head as she did. The air conditioned, mainly for the purpose of cleansed air and Trent and Elli's liking. Cliff could turn the air conditioner off, but he didn't want to bother Trent and Elli. What could he use to-

Realization dawned upon him as he looked down on the blue scarf tied around his neck. Slowly and carefully, he untied the scarf, and tied it around Claire's own neck. Sitting down back in the wooden chair, he sighed. He may not have his beloved scarf, but at least Claire would be warmer.

As he looked away for a moment to admire the leaves falling like he had been earlier that day, Claire stopped shivering. She smiled, brightly like she usually does, in her sleep.

Perhaps it was about time that the blue scarf made another memory.

AND CUUUUUUUUT!

Author's Note: Man, I did it again! Every darn time I don't expect it, another story pops up! I don't get that sometimes, whenever I don't intend on making a fiction, I do, but when I DO want to make a fiction, my writing skills leave me halfway through!

Sigh, I guess I need more honing,

But hey! Passed the two-thousand word mark! It was intentionally just going to be Cliff at the winery, but apparently, my cranial nerves didn't hear me.

Also, I at least made a cover art for this. AND IT'S HAND-DRAWN.

Anyways, read and review, I really love them. Constructive Criticism is always appreciated.

By the way, I don't own Harvest Moon. I'm not Natsume.

AllShades is out, PEACE!


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